Assisted Kill - [Ludra Yuk - Level 74] - 9743 Talons

  [Level up. Level 45 obtained.]

  [Level up. Level 46 obtained.]

  [Level up. Level 47 obtained.]

  [Level up. Level 48 obtained.]

  Devon couldn't help but laugh, everything about this situation was simply too perfect. In the moment that Val Kazar killed the chief Devon felt the greatest amount of respect for anyone he'd ever felt.

  Val Kazar had set everything up perfectly. Perfectly.

  He'd first taken note of the vishan's odd behavior when he'd undersold Devon's strength to the chief. Then he'd returned the amplification gem to Devon, an item that any rational thinker would have seen was an extraordinarily dangerous object.

  It's so clear now. Val Kazar would have been too weak on his own to eliminate the chief, but since I caught him by surprise Val Kazar was able to assassinate him. Val Kazar must have known about the rejuvenation token, otherwise his timing wouldn't have been so on point.

  Before him was someone else who had bent the tutorial to their will, and Devon felt nothing but the utmost respect for such a perfectly executed plan. And now they were the only ones who remained.

  But Devon could feel it. The line called to him. His dance upon this stage that he'd worked to create couldn't end so soon. He wouldn't allow it.

  He got the system notification that Val Kazar had tried to send a message as he used the rejuvenation token. There was no point in saving it at this stage. He respected Val Kazar far too much to think he'd be baited into the same kind of trap the chief had sprung on Devon.

  That's right, the best move you can make is to call the other overseers back. It'd be easy to overwhelm me with several others. So obviously I won't let you.

  Devon opened his status window for a quick glimpse, eyes flicking over two values in particular.

  Mana: 45/285

  Spirit: 26

  Well, the description of the token did say it restored the body to peak physical condition. It was a bit much to expect it to restore the incorporeal.

  He'd drawn his mana a lot closer to zero than he'd wanted to in the first fight with two Lightning Imbuements and two other skills he'd thrown out to maintain the illusion he was struggling.

  Devon's eyes were drawn to Val Kazar as the pendant he'd stolen from the chief lit up and his body was engulfed in a red haze. Every single one of Devon's instincts screamed at him to be cautious of this foe that he'd felt only a smidge of tension towards a second ago.

  A buffing pendant? That's quite the increase in stats. He's got the rest of the chief's equipment too, so I can assume they're buffing him even further. If my mana pool had been restored it probably wouldn't have been an issue, but this situation…

  Devon felt his insane smile grow even wider. A part of him had worried that the overseer leader would have been too easy.

  If his mind wasn't dancing along the line he probably would have stopped and wondered who he was becoming, thinking of an opponent almost 20 levels above him as easy. But that thought didn't even register in his mind. All his mind registered was the opponent before him and the line.

  Devon reached into his tile as the ground started rumbling, but he didn't even notice the odd phenomenon as he brought out the curved blade Val Kazar had so kindly returned to him earlier.

  Val Kazar sprang forward, not intending to give Devon any time to assemble his weapon. But that was exactly what Devon wanted.

  Activate skill; Harvest.

  Twirling his spear, Devon barely managed to deflect Val Kazar's blade. Then, as the tip of his spear drew Val Kazar's gaze one way Devon shifted his body, throwing his arm still holding the curved blade at Val Kazar's chest.

  The vishan saw through the gambit and stepped back out of Devon's range, only allowing the tip of the blade to leave a faint line of red across his chest. But it was enough.

  All Harvest needed to take effect was that smallest of cuts.

  His Spirit had been at a mere 6 when he'd tested Harvest against ruin crawlers. Now it was 26. It was still a far cry from what it had been before. But if he assumed the average value of an unawakened spirit to be 10, as his had been, then his spirit should now once again be strong enough to trounce upon those weaker than him.

  The effect was immediate. The demonic aura still surrounded Val Kazar's body, but Devon's instincts no longer screamed that the person in front of him had him completely outclassed.

  Devon shoved the curved blade back into his tile as a red beam of light whizzed over their heads and struck the mountain.

  [Alert]

  Emergency Quest issued: [Kill Nix]

  Karmic link detected. Altering failure Penalty.

  [Kill Nix]

  Kill Nix. Failure to eliminate Nix within 1 hour will result in a Penalty.

  Reward: Karmic Affection.

  Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

  Failure Penalty: Karmic Disdain.

  Devon didn't pay attention to anything the system was showing him. The overlay was simply a distraction, a trick the system used to screw with him. The words on his display didn't even register in his mind.

  But they did in Val Kazar's. The overseer must have gotten something similar, because Devon saw his focus waver as he looked off into space.

  Taking advantage of the overseer's distraction, Devon rushed forward. Even without using any skills, he could feel the immense increase he'd gained in strength since the last time he'd fought for real.

  Val Kazar's focus snapped back to Devon too late. But just as his spear was about to pierce through Val Kazar's neck his instincts screamed at him to move.

  Abandoning his attack, Devon dived to the side. He rolled past Val Kazar as the vishan did… nothing.

  Heh. Making a fool of me, huh?

  Only after abandoning his attack did Devon realize the sensation had been familiar. It was the same as the wave of oppression Devon and every other fresh initiate had felt on the first day.

  I'd wondered what that was. Well that trick won't work again.

  Devon once again fell into a stance with his spear. Val Kazar scowled as he readied his sword.

  They charged each other simultaneously. Sparks clashed off their weapons as they met each other repeatedly.

  Exhilaration was all Devon felt as their weapons locked together for the briefest of instants before Val Kazar shifted his weight and tilted his sword, forcing it to run along the length of Devon's spear right toward his face.

  He leaned his head back to avoid the overextended attack but felt a line of fire ignite under his left eye.

  With the end of Devon's spear free from the clash he angled the tip forward and thrust. But like Val Kazar's, it was a sloppy attack that let his opponent dodge back, putting space between them.

  Devon didn't need to check to know his cheek had a long cut on it, he could taste the iron of the blood that ran down his face.

  Val Kazar took an unusual stance and Devon intrinsically felt the activation of a skill. There was something about the air that made him certain, but he wasn't exactly sure what changed.

  He readied his sword as if taunting the overseer to come on, and Val Kazar did not disappoint.

  As Val Kazar swung his sword in an upwards diagonal cut Devon once again felt the wave of oppression roll over him. This time he shrugged it off, but it still caused a moment of hesitation that Val Kazar used.

  Devon's block was a little late, causing Val Kazar's sword to get far too close to Devon's abdomen for comfort. It became even more uncomfortable as it felt like tiny blades bloomed from the vishan's sword, layering Devon's side with small cuts and ripping his clothing to shreds.

  He thrust a foot forward and landed a solid kick into the overseer's gut, forcing space between them as he analyzed the strange attack.

  Another guaranteed hit type of effect? No, this is different. There's a strange sensation that reverberated through my spear when we clashed. And this effect is more like what happens to someone caught in the center of Galeforce.

  A wind-type weapon imbuement then? No, that's not right either. These cuts are much deeper and more numerous than what Galeforce is capable of doing to me, and it'd be obvious from the vortex it would create. It's like some type of blade aura surrounds his sword.

  I need to be cautious. Even half a foot away that effect covered my side with cuts. If it had been active when he'd cut my face I'd have been unrecognisable. Which begs the question of why he didn't use it earlier. Maybe he was getting a feel for how I move before activating it because it's costly to maintain.

  As if to support this theory, Val Kazar rushed back in immediately after Devon kicked him away. Devon could see the fierce hunger within the overseer's eyes, and a flash of inspiration, or perhaps insanity, bloomed in Devon's mind.

  He held his spear out, using its superior range to bait Val Kazar into a preemptive move.

  As expected, Val Kazar swung his sword as he closed the distance, knocking Devon's spear aside before swinging down towards Devon.

  Devon had blocked almost every attack the vishan had thrown his way throughout the fight, so his focus was still on the spear as Devon sidestepped, letting Val Kazar's blade aura leave cuts all along his body as it passed by.

  Despite leaving him with more wounds, it put him in the perfect position to take advantage of the opening Val Kazar had made in his haste.

  These shallow cuts are nothing my high vitality can't handle. So long as I don't allow myself to get seriously injured I'm willing to take as many as it takes to strike back.

  He thrust his spear forward towards an off-balance Val Kazar, certain he'd pierce through the vishan's chest.

  Vishan blood splashed onto the sandy ground as Val Kazar desperately blocked the spear with an arm.

  Wincing in pain, the vishan roared as he threw his impaled arm to the side, dragging Devon's spear with it as Val Kazar made a frantic slash with his sword.

  That trick works both ways, you know.

  Putting his full strength into the spear, Devon pushed it even further to the side, causing Val Kazar to lose his balance from his arm dragging him to the side.

  Devon whipped his spear back, leaving Val Kazar to stumble as he tried to regain his balance. Devon wouldn't give him the chance.

  Thrusting his spear forward again, Devon was intent on skewering his long-standing nemesis. But Val Kazar wasn't content to go out so easily.

  The overseer slashed out with his sword in a desperate off-balance attack that cut across Devon's chest. The aura of blades followed it, turning Devon's chest into a gruesome mess.

  But the damage was done. Devon's spear was lodged firmly in Val Kazar's chest, and he saw the vishan cough out a mouthful of blood.

  I thank you, my vaunted rival, for being such a superb dance partner.

  He felt a pang of sympathy even as he prepared to kill the one responsible for utterly destroying what his life had been, because within Val Kazar's eyes was a desperation that Devon could tell extended beyond the pursuit of self-preservation. It was the desperation of a man who couldn't afford to fail because the lives of others depended on him.

  As Devon pulled his spear out of Val Kazar's chest the overseer made one last hopeless lunge with his sword, but Devon knocked it aside easily before next piercing the overseer's skull through his eye.

  Sleep now and lay whatever burden you held to rest.

  Devon put a hand to his chest and winced at the pain and the feeling on his fingers. His chest had virtually turned to mincemeat.

  My armor and ribs saved me. The armor blunted the force of the attacks and allowed my ribs to absorb the rest. Even so, if those attacks had been piercing instead of slashing I'd definitely be dead.

  Trying to steady his labored breathing, Devon's eyes adjusted as the natural adrenaline started to leave his veins and the pain of his chest and side started to become much more noticeable.

  For the first time since the fight started, he truly registered the immense amount of text the system was showing him. Ever since the first notification he'd been looking straight past the semi-transparent text, not bothering to read anything past the level up notifications from the chief.

  Right, there's a battle still going on. Come on, the dance is over, it's time to get your head back in the game. What the hell is happening out there?

  At the very bottom of the list were two level up notifications and a message telling him to seek struggle, but right above those was a message request from Trey.

  Good, I need a sitrep so I know what's going on.

  However, just as he was about to open the line the message request dropped off the list of notifications.

  …Trey?